“Atomtronics”, a contraction of “atom” and “electronics”, refers to devices that are analogous to integrated circuits, but that are designed to sense and manipulate atom-scale particles, including neutral atoms, monatomic ions (ionized atoms), and polyatomic ions (ionized molecules). Applications include the study of ultra-cold states of matter, atomic clocks, and quantum computing.
It can be difficult to sense and manipulate individual particles when they are continually colliding with neighboring particles. To reduce the frequency of collisions so that particles have a useful mean-time between collisions (i.e., a sufficient mean free path), the particles sensed and manipulated by atomtronics are typically in a vacuum; herein “vacuum” encompasses volumes at pressure at most an order of magnitude below 1 atmosphere (atm). More specifically, “vacuum” encompasses “high vacuum (HV), ultra-high vacuum (UHV), extreme-high vacuum (XHV), and variants of these.
Atomtronic devices may be contained within a vacuum to provide a desired proximity to the particles to be sensed and manipulated. However, locating the devices within the vacuum can be problematic in that the connections through the vacuum boundary required to interface with external instrumentation can be sites for vacuum compromise.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,126,112 describes an atomtronic device, in this case, an atom chip, that completes a vacuum boundary of a vacuum chamber and includes photolithographically defined vias for transferring electrical signals to and from the vacuum interior from and to equipment exterior to the vacuum. Active elements of the atomtronic device are exposed to the vacuum, while the vias provide robust links between the vacuum and the ambient. Like some computer chips, such atomtronic devices can be packaged in a pin-grid array (PGA). The PGA can be inserted into a socket, which can provide a physical and electrical interface with a printed-circuit board or other system for controlling and sensing quantum effects within the UHV chamber.